President

Dara Wasalino Tremblay, PP, PLS-SC - Family Law

Dara is born and raised in Tacoma where she graduated from Henry Foss High School (1995) and attended the Legal Secretary Program at Clover Park Technical College (1998-1999).  Dara received a paralegal certificate from the Eastern Washington University Division of Educational Outreach and The Center for Legal Studies in March 2001.  Dara received her NALS PLS (Professional Legal Secretary) certification in 2005, her NALS PP (Professional Paralegal) certification in 2012, and her NALS Specialty Certificate in Family Law/Estate Planning in 2014.  She works as a Paralegal at Elise Buie Family Law Group PLLC. Dara has served on the Board of Directors for NALS of Pierce County for many years:  Education Director (2010-2012 and 2020 to present), Marketing Director (2012-2013), Vice President/Membership Director (2013-2014), President (2014-2016), Secretary (2016–2019), and Certification Director (2019-2020).  Dara won the NALS of Pierce County Officer of the Year Award for 2010-2011 and 2020-2021, and NALS of Pierce County’s Keystone Award for 2011-2012 for her work as Education Director.  Dara has served on the NALS of Washington Board for many years:  Education Director (2012-2014, and 2018-2020), Corporate Secretary (2014-2016), President-Elect (2016-2017 and 2020-present), and President (2017-2018).  Dara also serves on the NALS National Marketing Committee and the Chapter Reimagining Task Force. Dara and her husband, Chris, live in North Tacoma.  Dara is a barely restrained “crazy cat lady” who enjoys reading, cooking, camping, crocheting, travel, and dreams of retiring to Mexico.  Dara is a TV and pop-culture junkie (you want her on your team in a trivia challenge).

 

President-Elect

Jacquelynn Chaffee

Jackie was born and raised in Tacoma, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1998. She has worked in family law since 1999, and obtained her Associates in Applied Sciences – Paralegal Program at Tacoma Community College in 2004.     Jackie became a member of NALS of Pierce County in 2017. She served as the Treasurer for 2017-2019, Vice President 2018-2019, and President 2019-2021. She joined the NALS of Washington Board in 2021, and currently serves as the Membership Director. Jackie has worked at McKinley Irvin, PLLC for the past nine years, and is paralegal to Lindsay D. Camandona, Samuel J. Page, and Margaret Quartararo. Jackie loves spending time with her husband, Bret, children, Amber and Luke, and their dogs, Dallas and Leia. In her spare time, she enjoys going to their family beach house on Hood Canal, being outdoors, gardening and doing anything crafty.  Jackie is currently the President of her son’s school PTA board.      

Keegan Stanley

Keegan Stanley was born and raised in Tacoma, WA. She graduated in 2014 from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in American Indian Studies and a minor in Political Science, and obtained her Paralegal Preferred Pro-Certificate from Tacoma Community College in 2016. Keegan is a Court Clerk and serves as a Bailiff in the courtroom at Tacoma Municipal Court.  She formerly was a paralegal at Baner & Baner Law Firm for five years, assisting with a variety of things including family-based immigration, family law, and civil collections.  Outside of work, Keegan currently serves on the board for NALS of Pierce County as its President.  In her spare time, Keegan plays the bass clarinet, travels to beautiful outdoor places with her husband,  and enjoys knitting and crocheting.  

Secretary

Nancy Thayer

Nancy grew up in Seattle but has lived and worked in Bellingham, Portland, and Washington, D.C.  She currently resides in Bremerton.  Nancy began her legal career as a receptionist at Davis Wright Tremaine, transitioning to a legal secretary shortly thereafter.  After 40 years in the legal field, Nancy retired from Carney Badley Spellman as a corporate paralegal.  Although she has worked in nearly every area of law, she prefers corporate law above all others. Nancy has served on the Board of Directors of NALS of Washington as its Marketing Director (2013-2015 and 2017-2018), as its Secretary (2018 to present), and as State Meetings Co-Coordinator (2019 to present).  She has also served on the Board of Directors of NALS of Kitsap County as its President (2016-2017) and its Corporate Secretary (2017 to present).  Nancy has received the Officer of the Year Award (2014-2015) and the Award of Excellence (2015-2016). Since retiring, Nancy has spent her time travelling, hanging out in her craft room, reading, cooking, and attending cultural and social events.

Treasurer

Rory Hardy, LLLT, PP, PP-SC

I began working in the legal field in 2005 as a legal assistant, and eventually obtained my paralegal degree.  I have focused primarily in family, juvenile / dependency, guardianship, and immigration.  I was fortunate enough to remain with the same two attorneys from 2006 through the beginning of 2019.  During some of that time, I also worked as a GAL / CASA from 2007 through 2019.  I then began a new chapter working for the Attorney General’s Office (dependency division) in April 2019. I have a Paralegal ATA, NALS PP-SC, an AA degree, and BS in Law & Justice.  In addition, I obtained my LLLT license in 2019.  I am also a notary (including remote / electronic and signing agent). I am a SoCal native, and now a Washington transplant as I have lived the majority of my adult life in Washington.  When not working, or continuing my education, I enjoy volunteering in my community, and spending time with family (which includes my husband and daughter), friends, and my hairless cats (Sphynx).  Fun facts:  I am the only girl of six children, one of which is my twin brother.  I am also working on becoming a recognized Italian Citizen.  Fingers crossed!

Certification Director

Verna Seal, PP, PLS

Verna Seal is an immigration paralegal in the law firm Ryan Swanson & Cleveland PLLC and has more than 28 years of experience in the area of immigration law.  Prior to immigration law, she has many years of corporate transaction/SEC compliance experience, as well as litigation.  Overall, she has over 40 years of experience working in the legal field.  She had worked on numerous pro bono cases for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, as well as OneAmerica and Washington New Americans. Verna has been a member of NALS since 1992.  Since that time, she has held leadership positions in NALS of Minneapolis, NALS of Minnesota, Dallas Association of Legal Professionals, NALS of Portland, NALS of Greater Seattle, and NALS of Washington, as well as NALS serving as National Marketing Director and National Membership Director. Verna was elected to the Tukwila City Council in 2006 and retired from office at the end of 2021 after serving four terms (16 years). She serves on the city of Tukwila Library Advisory Board, Tukwila Arts Commission, and the Friends of the Tukwila Library board.  She is the former President and co-founder of the Tukwila Children’s Foundation and has also sat on the board of Tukwila Community Schools Collaboration and the Tukwila Pantry.  She was a Girl Scout leader for 12 years and for the last 5 years, served as Service Unit Manager for the Tukwila/Burien Service area. Verna received her Advanced Paralegal Certificate from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1988, as well as her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from California State University, Fullerton, B.S., Political Science in 1986.  She also holds both her PLS and PP certificates.

Marketing Director

Michelle Johnson

Hello, my name is Michelle, and I have been a member of NALS since 2017 and currently serving my third term as Marketing Director for NALS of Pierce County. I started my second career as a legal assistant in 2017 after working for a number of years in print media. I currently work as a contract paralegal for a variety of criminal defense attorneys, as well as DAC and OPD. Recently I graduated from CLS by Barbri with a Legal Investigation certificate. My goal is to eventually become a legal investigator. I am a mother to two beautiful grown daughters and grandmother to five lively granddaughters. Whether it is baseball tournaments, piano recitals, or class performances, you can always find me there routing my girls on! I love to spend my free time training my miniature dachshund as a therapy dog. We hope to volunteer at retirement communities as a way to give back to our aging society. It is an honor and privilege to accept this nomination for NALS of Washington, Marketing Director. I believe with the skills acquired in my current position as marketing director, print/digital/social media, the power of persuasiveness, and the support of my fellow board members, we will be able to accomplish remarkable things!

Membership Director

Jacquelynn Chaffee

Jackie was born and raised in Tacoma, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1998. She has worked in family law since 1999, and obtained her Associates in Applied Sciences – Paralegal Program at Tacoma Community College in 2004.

  Jackie became a member of NALS of Pierce County in 2017. She served as the Treasurer for 2017-2019, Vice President 2018-2019, and President 2019-2021. She joined the NALS of Washington Board in 2021, and currently serves as the Membership Director. Jackie has worked at McKinley Irvin, PLLC for the past nine years, and is paralegal to Lindsay D. Camandona, Samuel J. Page, and Margaret Quartararo. Jackie loves spending time with her husband, Bret, children, Amber and Luke, and their dogs, Dallas and Leia. In her spare time, she enjoys going to their family beach house on Hood Canal, being outdoors, gardening and doing anything crafty.  Jackie is currently the President of her son’s school PTA board.

Keegan Stanley

Keegan Stanley was born and raised in Tacoma, WA. She graduated in 2014 from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in American Indian Studies and a minor in Political Science, and obtained her Paralegal Preferred Pro-Certificate from Tacoma Community College in 2016. Keegan is a Court Clerk and serves as a Bailiff in the courtroom at Tacoma Municipal Court.  She formerly was a paralegal at Baner & Baner Law Firm for five years, assisting with a variety of things including family-based immigration, family law, and civil collections.  Outside of work, Keegan currently serves on the board for NALS of Pierce County as its President.  In her spare time, Keegan plays the bass clarinet, travels to beautiful outdoor places with her husband,  and enjoys knitting and crocheting.  

Education Director

Heather Sims, LLLT, PP, PLS

Heather grew up in Renton, Washington where she graduated from Hazen High School in 1996.  She graduated from Highline College with an A.A.S. in Paralegal Studies in 2011.  Heather received her NALS PLS certification in 2015 and her NALS PP certification in 2016.  She just got her LLLT license in November,2021. She currently works as a legal assistant for Northwest Justice Project.